John de Glopper (left) and Charlene de Glopper check out the water level of the Fraser River along Bellam Road in Chilliwack June 19, 2012. The David Suzuki Foundation has attempted to put a dollar figure on the non-market value of Metro Vancouver's aquatic ecosystems, releasing a study that suggests they provide $30 billion to $60 billion in benefits every year.Ric Ernst
/ PNG

The Fraser River east of Agassiz and north of Chilliwack June 19, 2012. The David Suzuki Foundation has attempted to put a dollar figure on the non-market value of Metro Vancouver's aquatic ecosystems, releasing a study that suggests they provide $30 billion to $60 billion in benefits every year.Ric Ernst
/ PNG

Spectacular views from atop the giant 163 metre north tower of the new Port Mann bridge high above the Fraser river, in Coquitlam on July 26, 2012. The David Suzuki Foundation has attempted to put a dollar figure on the non-market value of Metro Vancouver's aquatic ecosystems, releasing a study that suggests they provide $30 billion to $60 billion in benefits every year.Mark van Manen
/ PNG

Although SkyTrains and freeways now dominate travel patterns, the Fraser River continues to define New Westminster. The David Suzuki Foundation has attempted to put a dollar figure on the non-market value of Metro Vancouver's aquatic ecosystems, releasing a study that suggests they provide $30 billion to $60 billion in benefits every year.Josef Hanus

Record numbers of bald eagles on the Harrison River have attracted many affectionate onlookers, but organizers of the annual Fraser Valley Bald Eagle festival caution admirers not to get too close. The David Suzuki Foundation has attempted to put a dollar figure on the non-market value of Metro Vancouver's aquatic ecosystems, releasing a study that suggests they provide $30 billion to $60 billion in benefits every year.

VANCOUVER - The David Suzuki Foundation has attempted to put a dollar figure on the non-market value of Metro Vancouver's aquatic ecosystems, releasing a study that suggests they provide $30 billion to $60 billion in benefits every year.

The study, to be released Wednesday at 10 a.m., looks at services across nine land classes in the Georgia Strait and the major watersheds that empty into it, most notably the Fraser River.

The authors admit attaching values to services such as the esthetic quality and cultural elements like religious or spiritual worth is tricky.

However, they hope that by doing so, the research will aid further studies to help guide policies that will protect marine ecosystems.

To arrive at a dollar value, the authors classified services for Lower Mainland residents into four groups: Provisions, including drinking water, food, raw material and medicine; Regulations, including gas, water and climate regulations; Habitat, for instance the plants that are essential in the marine food chain; And culture, including tourism, recreation and the esthetic value that attracts people to live and play in the area.

The authors, Michelle Molnar, Maya Kocian and David Batker, say the findings from the study are "compelling."

Only 30 per cent of known services were valued for the study, the authors say, and therefore more studies "are critically needed to update valuations and further justify investment in natural capital."

The authors say they used a variety of methods from economists to assign a value to non-market services, for example, looking at travel costs. Recreation areas, the report says, can be valued by what visitors are willing to pay to travel to it, including the imputed value of their time.

"Determining the value of ecosystem goods and values is straightforward when they are traded in the market," the report says. "Depending on the information available, measuring the value of a specific non-market good or service can range from easy, to possible but difficult, to impossible."

The study concludes that by placing a value on these services, people will understand the importance of shifting investment in projects that damage ecosystem services to investments that improve and sustain them.

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